Cisco Unity 8.x Data and Log Files, and Subscriber and System Mailboxes

Introduction to Cisco Unity 8.x Data and Message Storage

Information about subscriber accounts and other Cisco Unity data is stored in a SQL Server database on the Cisco Unity server. Additionally, a small subset of the Cisco Unity information is stored in Active Directory. Cisco Unity keeps the information in the directory and in the SQL Server database synchronized.

By storing its data in a SQL Server database, Cisco Unity derives many performance, reliability, and scalability benefits. Because very little information is stored in the directory, and because that information is not likely to change often, directory replication caused by changes to Cisco Unity data is minimal after the initial creation of subscriber accounts.

Cisco Unity Functions When the Network Is Down

In addition to the SQL database that contains subscriber names and extensions, the Unity Messaging Repository (UMR) is also on the Cisco Unity server. When the partner Exchange server is down, an Exchange server on which Cisco Unity subscriber mailboxes are homed is down, or the network is down, Cisco Unity can still answer calls, allow unidentified callers to look up subscriber extensions, and take voice messages. During the outage, new voice messages are stored in the UMR on the Cisco Unity server. Subscribers checking their voice messages hear the UMR conversation, which explains that the Exchange server is not available and gives them access to voice messages that were left after the outage began. When the Exchange server or network comes back on line, the voice messages stored in the UMR are routed to the subscriber mailboxes. If a subscriber listens to a message while it is in the UMR, the message is still marked as new when it is delivered to the mailbox for the subscriber. This causes the MWI for the subscriber to light even though the subscriber has already heard the message.

Moving Subscriber Mailboxes for Cisco Unity 8.x

From time to time you may need to move subscriber mailboxes to another server that is faster or has more disk space available, or you may want to move mailboxes when you add new servers to your network. It is possible to move subscribers between servers without having to shut down Cisco Unity.

The Unity Messaging System, UAmis, UVPIM, UOmni, and USbms mailboxes are special Exchange mailboxes with specific functions. In most cases, you use the same procedures to move these special mailboxes that you use to move ordinary subscriber mailboxes in Exchange—but with a few extra steps to prevent problems that can occur after the mailboxes are moved.

To avoid inadvertently moving the Unity Messaging System, UAmis, UVPIM, UOmni, or USbms mailboxes when you move a group of subscriber mailboxes, consider changing their Exchange display names so that these mailboxes are clearly identified as requiring "special" treatment.

The following sections describe the mailboxes and how to move them correctly:

Unity Messaging System Mailbox

When an unidentified caller—an outside caller or a caller from inside the organization who is calling from a phone that is not associated with a subscriber account (such as a conference room)—leaves a message for a subscriber, Cisco Unity sends the message to the partner Exchange server. The partner server then sends the message to the Exchange server on which the mailbox for that subscriber is homed; the message is stored in the mailbox for the subscriber. The sender for messages from unidentified callers is the Unity Messaging System mailbox, which is homed on the partner Exchange server. The display name is Unity Messaging System.

Step 2 From the Services window, stop CsVPIMConnector, which is the service that processes directory messages placed in the UVPIM mailbox by the Voice Connector.

Step 3 Move the mailbox using the standard Exchange process for moving mailboxes. For more information, refer to the Exchange documentation.

Step 4 From the Services window, restart CsVPIMConnector.

UOmni Mailbox

Administrative messages from the Cisco Unity Bridge to create, modify, or delete Bridge subscribers are placed in the special mailbox that has the display name UOmni_<ServerName>. For more information on the UOmni mailbox, refer to the "UOmni Account" section in the "About Bridge Networking" chapter of the applicable Networking Guide for Cisco Unity Bridge at http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/sw/voicesw/ps2237/products_feature_guides_list.html.